External infusion devices (e.g., infusion pumps) may be used for delivering medication to users, such as insulin to diabetics. Portable external infusion devices may be attached to a user's belt, for example, or placed in a user's pocket. In external infusion devices delivering insulin, for example, the insulin may delivered via a cannula, inserted in subcutaneous tissue of the user.
Some conventional external infusion pumps may communicate remotely with another controlling device, such as a remote controller that is physically separated from the external infusion pump, for altering one or more functional settings of the external infusion pump. One example of such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,798. Another example is shown and described in US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0022274 and 2005/0215982. Other conventional infusion pumps may include a remote controller with a blood glucose measurement device. One example of such device is shown and described in US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0068230.
Although these known devices are convenient to the diabetic users, applicants have discovered that there could be issues with the conventional infusion pumps that have not been recognized or identified in the art. For example, while an RF programmer (as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,798) could be programmed to learn a code unique to the infusion pump or to transmit a unique code to the infusion pump, there is nothing to confirm that: (a) the remote programmer is the one expressly designated to control (i.e., “paired”) a specific infusion pump, and (b) the infusion pump is the one expressly designated as the device to be controlled (i.e., “paired”) to a specified remote programmer. That is, in a scenario where several diabetes patients are closely intermingled with each other while configuring their respective pumps or meters (e.g., as in a pump training session), there is believed to be a greater likelihood that a first user may inadvertently couple the first user's remote programmer to a second or third user's pump, and the second or third user may couple the second or third user's remote programmer to the first user's pump. Such inappropriate control of the infusion pumps by the remote controller could be problematic for these users. Moreover, in another scenario of the RF programmer identified in the prior art, there is nothing to allow for easy and convenient recognition by the user that the pump selected to be paired with a specified remote controller is the correct pump. This could lead to a scenario where multiple pump users in a single household may inadvertently use each other's remote programmers or controlling each other's pumps. Where the remote controller includes a blood glucose measurement unit, inadvertent mix up between the remote controller and its assigned user may lead to issues with the infusion pump providing the wrong insulin doses.
Thus, applicants have recognized the potential risks in the known infusion pump and have developed various embodiments of a remote controller, medical device, systems, and methods that are believed to overcome or alleviate at least the above-identified drawbacks.